Global Courant
An appeals court announced that an anti-discrimination lawsuit involving Native American hair could go to trial in New Mexico. Outrage over the incident led to the passing of anti-discrimination legislation in New Mexico. school and trust that their culture, history and personal dignity will be valued and respected by the public schools they attend.”
An appeals court ruling has revived an anti-discrimination case in which an Albuquerque teacher was accused of cutting off a Native American girl’s hair and asking another if she dressed like a “damn Indian” during class at Halloween.
Outrage over the girls’ treatment led to legislation in New Mexico and abroad banning discrimination based on hairstyle and religious headgear.
The American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit accused the Albuquerque Public Schools and a teacher of discrimination and fostering a hostile learning environment. New Mexico ACLU deputy director Leon Howard said the ruling confirms that public schools are subject to anti-discrimination protections in the New Mexico Human Rights Act.
The appeals ruling affirms that all “students should feel safe in school and trust that their culture, history and personal dignity are valued and respected by the public schools they attend,” Howard said in a statement.
A lower court had ruled that a public high school does not qualify as a “public property” under the state’s civil rights law. The appeal ruling sends the lawsuit back to the district court for a hearing on its merits.
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“If a public high school official in his official capacity were to refuse service to an individual based on his race, religion or sexual orientation, the New Mexico Human Rights Act would certainly apply,” wrote Judge J. Miles Hanissee of the Court of Appeal. .
Albuquerque Public Schools spokeswoman Monica Armenta said the district is considering options to appeal.
The lawsuit alleges that English teacher Mary Jane Eastin dressed up as a voodoo witch during Halloween in 2018 and started a game where she would ask students questions and reward those who answered correctly with marshmallows while giving dog food to those who didn’t .
At one point, Eastin asked a Native American student if she liked her braids and then cut them off about four inches with scissors, scattering the hair on her desk, the suit alleges.
According to the lawsuit, Eastin also asked another student, prosecutor McKenzie Johnson, 16, if she was dressed as a “damn Indian.” Johnson’s mother later told reporters that her daughter dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood for Halloween, with a red paw print on her face. Johnson, who is Navajo, said she no longer felt welcome at the school.
An appeals court says an anti-discrimination case involving Native American hair can go to trial in New Mexico.
The school district superintendent publicly apologized and told parents that Eastin would not be returning to Cibola High School.
Johnson called the ruling a breakthrough for Indigenous students and others.
“We are surrounded by indigenous communities,” she said in a statement. “School staff at all levels need to understand our culture and our history so that what happened in my class never happens again.”
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed legislation in 2021 prohibiting discrimination, discipline, or dissimilar treatment of students based on hairstyle, religious headdress, or culture.
The U.S. House passed a failed bill last year largely in response to bias black people may face about their haircuts in society, school, and work.
Global Courant
Johnson is also represented by Parnall & Adams Law and the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty.
